Crimea Expels 8 Kilometers of Sausage Casing

Sausage casing was expelled back to Ukraine, providing ample material to stuff 20 tons of sausage.

When Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula was annexed by Russia in March, local expectations varied broadly — but sausage shortages rarely featured among the list of potential concerns.

And yet the Black Sea region has found itself facing potential problems with the meat delicacy, after a Russian state watchdog prevented eight kilometers of sausage casing from entering the territory.

The casing was being imported from the Ukrainian capital of Kiev without the necessary paperwork, the Federal Veterinary and Phytosanitary Inspection Service said on its website Monday.

The offending goods were expelled back to Ukraine, the watchdog said. They would have provided ample material to stuff 20 tons of sausage.

Crimea lacks any land connection with mainland Russia and has to obtain most of its food, as well as water and electricity, from its former mainland Ukraine, which — along with the rest of the world — has not recognized the March annexation.

Russian media reported earlier about shortages of confectionery and dairy products in Crimea.

But no such reports have yet been made about sausage, indicating that stocks are not dwindling at this point.